PAS' insistence that those who break their bai'ah (loyalty oath) to the party must divorce their wives does not bode well for its plans to implement hudud.
Sepang MP Hanipa Maidin ( below ), who is now with the splinter party, Parti Amanah Negara (Amanah), said it only showed PAS was more interested in punishing people than upholding justice.
The former party leader and lawyer said the stand taken by PAS also showed that the Islamic party’s talk of hudud being a fair system and its harsh punishments difficult to carry out was all just “lip service”.
"Seeing the attitude of some PAS leaders and the Kelantan mufti who wants the divorce (of those who break away from the party) to take effect even though there are differences in opinion on it, makes me wonder.
"How will the public be convinced that the hudud criminal law in Kelantan is truly not solely meant to punish?
"Hudud is supposed to make it harder for an accused to be sentenced, because Islamic law principles make it hard for a prosecutor to prove guilt and punish, but it looks like that's all lip service," he said in a statement today.
Hanipa was reacting to PAS' insistence that its lawmakers in Kelantan, including Kuala Krai MP Dr Hatta Ramli, uphold the oath to divorce their wives for breaking away from PAS to form Amanah.
He said it gave the perception that the religious people were more interested in punishing than in finding a way to pardon someone.
‘Stark contrast to Prophet Muhammad’
This, he said, contrasted greatly with Prophet Muhammad's actions, who tried very hard to find a way so that a companion who admitted to committing adultery would not be punished.
The prophet, as well as his companions, Hanipa said, frowned on those who were rigid in religion, especially on matters not set in stone.
PAS clerics have been pushing for those leaving the party, namely those from the progressive faction that was wiped out in the last party elections, to uphold their oath and carry out the penalties.
Yesterday, Amanah members Shah Alam MP Khalid Samad ( right ) and Kota Raja MP Dr Mariah Mahmud fulfilled their punishment for breaking their oath of loyalty to PAS by feeding the poor.
In July, Parit Buntar MP Mujahid Yusof Rawa criticised PAS for harping on the oath, saying it was debatable as the Islamic party had “betrayed” its members .
"What happens if we find out the party is not in line with what it is preaching? What if the party is doing something else? How can you stay loyal if the party goes against the teachings of Islam, for example?” Mujahid was reported saying.
Meanwhile Perlis mufti Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin also commented that the PAS move on those breaking the party oath of loyalty was overzealous , as “it is terribly bad if party politics is held ransom to the point that it destroys the household”.
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